The MPWB board expresses solidarity with all affected by systemic injustice and racism and supports the principles of the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

We recognize these recent weeks have been difficult, and we know that they have also been deeply painful for some friends and members of our community. Not all of us can know the depth of this pain, but MPWB can offer support and efforts to work towards change. We share in the outrage, we echo the calls for change, and we underscore our commitment to inclusion and anti-racism.

Our mission is to support activities which will yield effective and safe use of physics and technologies in medicine, especially in low to middle income countries. A core value of MPWB is Equal Access, where all citizens deserve access to effective and safe healthcare irrespective of their gender, religion, race or income. Yet we know that even in developed countries, access to healthcare and justice is not always equal.

Another core value of MPWB is Mutual Respect, where we aim to be sensitive to local circumstances, customs and cultural diversity. Yet we know that even in the communities of developed countries, there remain significant challenges in achieving mutual respect.

To accept the status quo of racism through silence and inaction is to be complicit in its perpetuation. To make changes in our communities, we must make changes in attitudes and be proactive. Each of us can educate ourselves on racism, systemic injustice and the effects they have in healthcare. Through our combined efforts we can make a change.

We recognize we do not have the answers to the challenges we face today. Together we can learn and work to create better paths for improving diversity, inclusion and belonging in our communities. MPWB is here to listen, learn, and affirm our value in mutual respect and equal access to safe healthcare in our communities.

MPWB is hosting a second webinar entitled “International Medical Physics Guidelines for COVID-19.” The Asia-Oceania Federation of Medical Physics (AFOMP) has developed guidelines on Radiation Oncology Operation during COVID-19. These can be found here: http://afomp.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/AFOMP-RT-guideline-COVID-April4.pdf .  The Australasians have also developed guidelines that can be found here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13246-020-00869-0.

Two main contributors to these reports will present an overview of Medical Physics considerations for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic: (1) Dr. Xiance Jin, PhD, Chief Physicist and Vice Director, Wenzhou Medical University First Hospital, Wenzhou, China, and (2) Tomas Kron, PhD, Director of Physical Sciences, Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, Melbourne, Australia. The session will be moderated by Parminder Basran, Director of Communications for MPWB. The time for this webinar will be more friendly towards the eastern world but, of course, everyone is invited to attend:

Date: Wednesday 29 April 2020.

Time: 7:00 am Eastern Daylight time (11:00 am UTC; 1:00 pm Central European time; 2:00 pm Asia Standard time; 4:30 pm India Standard time; 7:00 pm China Standard time; 9:00 pm Australian Eastern Standard time; 4:00 am Pacific Daylight time)

The registration link for the webinar is here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7910895308807531278

Once registered, an automatic e-mail will be sent from “AAPM Webinar” providing a direct connection to the webinar. Questions can be submitted in advance here: medphyswb@gmail.com or through our social media channels (@medphywb). There will also be an opportunity to post questions during the session.

After registering, you will receive an email with a secure link to the video conference. The session will allow up to 3000 attendees. This will be a live video conference and it will be recorded and accessible on our website. 

Medical Physics for World Benefit (MPWB) (www.mpwb.org) is hosting a webinar entitled “COVID-19-Related Issues: A Medical Physics Perspective from Italy”. The COVID-19 pandemic provides unique challenges for Medical Physicists. This webinar will enable participants to learn from the experience of the Medical Physics Department in Milan, Italy. Specific questions will be addressed and opportunities for further discussion will be provided. Questions can be submitted in advance or at the time of the webinar, which will be hosted with GoToWebinar.

The discussion will be led Antonella del Vecchio from the Department of Medical Physics,San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy and chaired by Parminder Basran, Director of Communications for MPWB.

Date: 15 April 2020

Time: 9:00 am Eastern Time (1:00 pm UTC; 6:00 am in Los Angeles, USA; 3:00 pm in Milan, Italy; 6:30 pm in Mumbai, India; 9:00 pm in Beijing, China; 11:00 pm Sydney, Australia)

The registration link for the webinar is here:https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6807402349118601230. Once registered, an automatic e-mail will be sent from “AAPM Webinar” providing a direct connection to the webinar.

Questions can be submitted in advance here: medphyswb@gmail.com

As our community faces uncertain challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic, MPWB feels obliged to recognize this and share some important thoughts with our community.

First, it is of paramount importance that you follow directives of your local health authorities. Many jurisdictions are implementing strategies to mitigate the spread of the virus through social distancing and density reduction measures. The World Health Organization has helpful information on the public and health care workers. Please refer to your local and national health authorities for local directives and best practices. As healthcare workers, we have a collective responsibility to the patients and the public we serve.

Second, in a time of crisis it is always helpful to undertake some self-reflection. Many lives are being disrupted with these challenges: daycare closures, workplace changes, and many of you may be feeling the direct impacts of the virus yourselves. These events are occurring at a rapid rate and can be unsettling. We want to assure the MPWB community to ‘Keep Calm and Curie On!’. We encourage you to stay healthy physically and mentally! The US CDC has resources for the latter.

These challenges will certainly impact the medical physics community. Many centers are unable to operate to their capacity, and others have their resources stretched thin. There is evidence that these challenges will persist for several weeks, if not months. This can be particularly frustrating for Medical Physicists who are natural problem solvers. We are particularly concerned over how this pandemic will affect low and middle income countries and their ability to safely deliver patient care. If you have ideas or thoughts on how we might be able to help solve these problems, we encourage you to share them with your local leaders. Please also feel free to use our Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn social- media channels to share your thoughts. If you have thoughts or suggestions on how MPWB might be able to help with this pandemic, please share them through our social media channels or through medphyswb@gmail.com.

Open Syllabus Project Volunteer Drive:

The Open Syllabus project is now underway and a Steering Committee has been assembled. We are starting the project for Radiation Oncology Residents by creating training modules as defined by the IAEA. These modules are topics covered in a residency program. Specific modules are 

• Clinical Introduction
• Radiation Safety and Protection
• Radiation Dosimetry
• Radiation Therapy-External Beam
• External Beam Treatment Planning
• Brachytherapy
• Professional Studies and Quality Management
• Research, Development and Teaching

The next step is to assemble teams for each module and identify, collate, and prioritize online resources that cover learning objectives in each of the modules. These resources include things like presentations, YouTube videos, and other easily accessible online resources which can be hyperlinked to learning objectives. We are looking for volunteers to help collate, organize, and prioritize this content. If you have expertise in one of the following areas and are willing to volunteer your time, please email us at medphyswb@gmail.com. Expectations for volunteers include information flow via email, attending video/teleconference meetings, finding and prioritizing content for the Open Syllabus. Please let us know if you have a preference for which module you would like to volunteer for.

For those who are unable to be directly involved - we would appreciate any presentations, lectures, videos, etc that you or your institution would be willing to share via medphyswb@gmail.com. 

For those who have reached out to us in the past, thank you! We will be contacting you shortly.

Earlier this month, MPWB was excited to learn that our very own Jake was chosen to receive the International Day of Medical Physics (IDMP) Award for 2019!

The award "recognizes excellence in Medical Physics with a particular view of promoting medical physics to a larger audience and highlighting the contributions medical physicists make for patient care."

The IOMP represents over 25,000 medical physicists worldwide and 87 adhering national member organizations, including MPWB as an affiliated organization. 

Great job and congratulations!

Happy International Day of Medical Physics! #IDMP2019 is about bringing together communities and celebrating excellence in #medphys. Let us build on our #partnerships in the pursuit of equal access to #globalhealth, and celebrate the legacy of Marie Skłodowska Curie. 

Learn more about IDMP activities on the IOMP website!

The Global Oncology Committee of the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncologists (CARO) is sponsoring a webinar series with the goal of disseminating knowledge, discussing issues, spreading interest, and advocating for more impact in Global Oncology. The following is the information on speaker number 3 in this series:

Speaker: Dr. Jacob Van Dyk.

Time: 29 October 2019, 6:00-7:00 pm eastern time.

Title: Global Challenges in Radiation Oncology: A Medical Physics Perspective. 

Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/538502700

Meeting ID: 538 502 700 

One tap mobile : +1 647 558 0588, 538502700# Canada 

Dial by your location: +1 647 558 0588 Canada

Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/airZROBPl  

All interested in Global Oncology activities are invited to join.

On August 21, starting 8 AM the Medical Physics for World Benefit website will be offline for 24 hours  annual servicing and updates to make the website more mobile friendly. The website will be up on August 22 at 8 AM.

Please contact  medphyswb@gmail.com for any inquiries.

Thank you,

The MPWB Team

In the latest edition of COMP InterACTIONs (the organization's quarterly newsletter), MPWB provided an article outlining some of the challenges in delivering radiation therapy in the developing world. You an access a copy of the article here.